Daniel Wilco | NCAA.com | March 11, 2023

The highest-scoring men's basketball games in NCAA March Madness history

Greg Anthony recalls Bo Kimble's left-handed free throw

March Madness has been around in a four-region, 60-plus team format since 1985, when the NCAA DI men's basketball tournament expanded to 64 schools, and later 68 in 2011. Since 1985, thousands of games have been played in the NCAA tournament (not counting the First Four). That’s a lot of basketball. And with a lot of basketball comes a lot of points: Hundreds of thousands, in fact.

But which of those games are responsible for the most of those points? In other words, what are the highest-scoring games in modern NCAA tournament history?

Here’s all 19 that have surpassed 200 total points:

Rank	Total	Winning team	Score	Losing team	Score	Year	Round
1	264	No. 11 seed Loyola Marymount	149	No. 3 seed Michigan	115	1990	Second round
2	234	No. 10 seed Loyola Marymount	119	No. 7 seed Wyoming	115	1988	First round
3	232	No. 1 seed UNLV	131	No. 11 seed Loyola Marymount	101	1990	Elite Eight
4	221	No. 5 seed Arkansas	120	No. 12 seed Loyola Marymount	101	1989	First round
5	220	No. 2 seed UNC	123	No. 10 seed Loyola Marymount	97	1988	Second round
6	216	No. 7 seed West Virginia	111	No. 2 seed Wake Forest	105	2005	Second round
7	214	No. 12 seed Tulsa	112	No. 5 seed UCLA	102	1994	First round
T8	207	No. 1 seed Duke	104	No. 2 seed Kentucky	103	1992	Elite Eight
T8	207	No. 5 seed Tennessee	121	No. 12 seed Long Beach State	86	2007	First round
T10	206	No. 1 seed UNC	109	No. 9 seed Michigan	97	1987	Second round
T10	206	No. 1 seed Oklahoma	108	No. 5 seed Louisville	98	1988	Sweet 16
T10	206	No. 8 seed UCLA	105	No. 1 seed Cincinnati	101	2002	Second round
T13	205	No. 1 seed Oklahoma	124	No. 9 seed Louisiana Tech	81	1989	Second round
T13	205	No. 1 seed Missouri	109	No. 9 seed Wisconsin	96	1994	Second round
15	204	No. 2 seed Kentucky	106	No. 10 seed Iowa State	98	1992	Second round
16	203	No. 11 seed Loyola Marymount	111	No. 10 seed Iowa State	98	1990	First round
17	202	No. 9 seed UAB	102	No. 8 seed Washington	100	2004	First round
T18	200	No. 5 seed Iowa	102	No. 12 seed Florida State	98	1988	First round
T18	200	No. 12 seed Western Kentucky	101	No. 5 seed Drake	99	2008	First round

Yes, we see it, too. Somehow, Loyola Marymount is involved in all five of the highest-scoring games, and six of the top 16. Why?

In the three-year span from 1988-1990, the Lions led the NCAA in points scored per game AND points allowed per game each year. And it wasn't close:

	Loyola Marymount P/G	Runner-up P/G	Difference	Loyola Marymount PA/G	Runner-up PA/G	Difference
1988	110.3	102.9	7.4	97.2	93.6	3.6
1989	112.5	102.2	10.3	107.3	96.2	11.1
1990	122.4	101.3	21.1	108.1	102	6.1

In 1990, when two of the top three highest-scoring NCAA tournament games were recorded, the Lions' games were averaging 230.5 total points — 30.7 more than the next highest team. That's about as perfect a recipe for record-breaking box scores as you can get.

During that three-year span, Loyola Marymount combined with its opponent to score more than 200 points in a game 62 times. The other five teams in the top five did that a total of just 12 times.

But the Lions were masters of getting other teams to play at their pace. Of the teams the Lions combined with to set the top five highest-scoring games, all averaged fewer than 80 points allowed per game.

What's more, only one averaged more than 90 points per game — 1990 UNLV at 93.5. The Running Rebels would go on to beat Duke in the national championship that year, 103-73 — a game that happens to be the highest-scoring championship game in modern tournament history.

Related: Hank Gathers' son remembers his father

To see exactly how these records took shape, take a look at these absurd box scores for each of the top five:

No. 1) 1990 second round: No. 11 seed Loyola Marymount 149, No. 3 seed Michigan 115

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT	FG	FGA	FG%	2P	2PA	2P%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	TRB	AST	PTS
Bo Kimble	11	29	37.9%	10	21	47.6%	1	8	12.5%	14	17	82.4%	7	4	37
Jeff Fryer	15	20	75%	4	5	80%	11	15	73.3%	0	0	-	4	3	41
Per Stumer	6	9	66.7%	1	1	100%	5	8	62.5%	4	4	100%	8	2	21
Tony Walker	0	2	0%	0	2	0%	0	0	-	5	7	71.4%	3	9	5
Chris Knight	2	5	40%	2	5	40%	0	0	-	0	0	-	6	3	4
Terrell Lowery	10	17	58.8%	7	9	77.8%	3	8	37.5%	0	0	-	3	6	23
Tom Peabody	4	5	80%	4	5	80%	0	0	-	6	6	100%	3	5	14
Marcellus Lee	1	1	100%	0	0	-	1	1	100%	0	0	-	2	0	3
Greg Walker	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	1	2	50%	0	0	1
John O'Connell	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	0
Jeff Roscoe	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	0
Marcus Slater	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	0
Christian Scott	0	1	0%	0	1	0%	0	0	-	0	0	-	2	1	0
TEAM	49	89	55.1%	28	49	57.1%	21	40	52.5%	30	36	83.3%	38	33	149

MICHIGAN	FG	FGA	FG%	2P	2PA	2P%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	TRB	AST	PTS
Rumeal Robinson	7	14	50%	5	8	62.5%	2	6	33.3%	7	10	70%	3	8	23
Terry Mills	11	16	68.8%	11	16	68.8%	0	0	-	1	2	50%	10	1	23
Demetrius Calip	2	8	25%	2	8	25%	0	0	-	6	8	75%	5	3	10
Loy Vaught	9	15	60%	9	15	60%	0	0	-	1	3	33.3%	17	0	19
Mike Griffin	2	4	50%	2	4	50%	0	0	-	0	0	-	1	5	4
Sean Higgins	5	13	38.5%	4	9	44.4%	1	4	25%	4	4	100%	3	2	15
Michael Talley	1	3	33.3%	1	2	50%	0	1	0%	1	2	50%	2	1	3
Tony Tolbert	7	11	63.6%	6	9	66.7%	1	2	50%	1	1	100%	2	1	16
Eric Riley	1	1	100%	1	1	100%	0	0	-	0	0	-	3	0	2
Chris Seter	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	0
James Voskuil	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	0
TEAM	45	85	52.9%	41	72	56.9%	4	13	30.8%	21	30	70%	46	21	115

No. 2) 1988 first round: No. 10 seed Loyola Marymount 119, No. 7 seed Wyoming 115

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT	FG	FGA	FG%	2P	2PA	2P%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	TRB	AST	PTS
Mike Yoest	5	9	55.6%	5	9	55.6%	0	0	-	15	17	88.2%	9	2	25
Hank Gathers	9	15	60%	9	15	60%	0	0	-	1	4	25%	12	2	19
Bo Kimble	12	22	54.5%	8	13	61.5%	4	9	44.4%	1	3	33.3%	2	3	29
Mark Armstrong	6	8	75%	6	8	75%	0	0	-	3	5	60%	8	2	15
Corey Gaines	3	9	33.3%	3	7	42.9%	0	2	0%	3	4	75%	2	10	9
Jeff Fryer	5	11	45.5%	2	5	40%	3	6	50%	4	4	100%	3	1	17
Enoch Simmons	2	8	25%	1	5	20%	1	3	33.3%	0	0	-	4	3	5
John Veargason	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	0
TEAM	42	82	51.2%	34	62	54.8%	8	20	40%	27	37	73%	40	23	119

WYOMING	FG	FGA	FG%	2P	2PA	2P%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	TRB	AST	PTS
Eric Leckner	10	17	58.8%	10	17	58.8%	0	0	-	3	4	75%	8	2	23
Fennis Dembo	5	11	45.5%	5	8	62.5%	0	3	0%	4	6	66.7%	7	8	14
Robyn Davis	9	15	60%	8	13	61.5%	1	2	50%	0	0	-	6	1	19
Willie Jones	4	7	57.1%	4	7	57.1%	0	0	-	4	6	66.7%	10	5	12
Turk Boyd	4	11	36.4%	4	8	50%	0	3	0%	1	1	100%	5	3	9
Sean Dent	2	3	66.7%	2	3	66.7%	0	0	-	0	0	-	2	6	4
Reggie Fox	7	9	77.8%	5	5	100%	2	4	50%	0	0	-	2	3	16
Clauzell Williams	3	4	75%	1	2	50%	2	2	100%	3	4	75%	3	0	11
Jonathan Sommers	2	2	100%	2	2	100%	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	1	4
David Lodgins	0	1	0%	0	1	0%	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	0
Rod Tyson	1	2	50%	0	0	-	1	2	50%	0	0	-	1	0	3
Kurt Samuels	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	0
TEAM	47	82	57.3%	41	66	62.1%	6	16	37.5%	15	21	71.4%	44	29	115

No. 3) 1990 Elite Eight: No. 1 seed UNLV 131, No. 11 seed Loyola Marymount 101

UNLV	FG	FGA	FG%	2P	2PA	2P%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	TRB	AST	PTS
Anderson Hunt	11	23	47.8%	7	11	63.6%	4	12	33.3%	4	6	66.7%	4	13	30
Larry Johnson	10	14	71.4%	10	14	71.4%	0	0	-	0	1	0%	18	5	20
Stacey Augmon	13	20	65%	13	20	65%	0	0	-	7	7	100%	11	6	33
Greg Anthony	8	10	80%	5	6	83.3%	3	4	75%	2	3	66.7%	1	8	21
David Butler	4	7	57.1%	4	7	57.1%	0	0	-	1	5	20%	8	2	9
Moses Scurry	3	4	75%	3	4	75%	0	0	-	2	2	100%	4	0	8
Stacey Cvijanovich	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	2	2	100%	2	0	2
James Jones	2	3	66.7%	2	3	66.7%	0	0	-	3	4	75%	3	0	7
Barry Young	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	2	0	0
Travis Bice	0	4	0%	0	2	0%	0	2	0%	1	2	50%	1	1	1
Dave Rice	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	1	0	0
Chris Jeter	0	1	0%	0	1	0%	0	0	-	0	0	-	1	0	0
TEAM	51	86	59.3%	44	68	64.7%	7	18	38.9%	22	32	68.8%	56	35	131

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT	FG	FGA	FG%	2P	2PA	2P%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	TRB	AST	PTS
Bo Kimble	14	32	43.8%	6	21	28.6%	8	11	72.7%	6	6	100%	11	3	42
Jeff Fryer	7	24	29.2%	3	8	37.5%	4	16	25%	3	3	100%	6	2	21
Per Stumer	2	4	50%	2	2	100%	0	2	0%	0	0	-	5	2	4
Tony Walker	1	1	100%	1	1	100%	0	0	-	2	3	66.7%	2	3	4
Chris Knight	4	8	50%	4	8	50%	0	0	-	0	0	-	2	2	8
Terrell Lowery	6	16	37.5%	2	7	28.6%	4	9	44.4%	2	2	100%	0	6	18
Tom Peabody	0	2	0%	0	0	-	0	2	0%	0	1	0%	2	4	0
John O'Connell	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	1	2	50%	2	0	1
Marcellus Lee	1	2	50%	0	1	0%	1	1	100%	0	0	-	0	0	3
Jeff Roscoe	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	1	0	0
Marcus Slater	0	2	0%	0	2	0%	0	0	-	0	0	-	1	0	0
Greg Walker	0	1	0%	0	1	0%	0	0	-	0	0	-	1	0	0
Christian Scott	0	2	0%	0	2	0%	0	0	-	0	0	-	1	1	0
TEAM	35	94	37.2%	18	53	34%	17	41	41.5%	14	17	82.4%	34	23	101

No. 4) 1989 first round: No. 5 seed Arkansas 120, No. 12 seed Loyola Marymount 101

ARKANSAS	FG	FGA	FG%	2P	2PA	2P%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	TRB	AST	PTS
Lee Mayberry	8	14	57.1%	7	13	53.8%	1	1	100%	2	6	33.3%	2	8	19
Lenzie Howell	10	11	90.9%	10	11	90.9%	0	0	-	7	11	63.6%	12	0	27
Keith Wilson	4	13	30.8%	4	11	36.4%	0	2	0.0%	1	3	33.3%	11	12	9
Mario Credit	14	21	66.7%	14	21	66.7%	0	0	-	6	9	66.7%	13	0	34
Todd Day	7	12	58.3%	6	9	66.7%	1	3	33.3%	5	6	83.3%	2	4	20
Arlyn Bowers	2	7	28.6%	2	5	40%	0	2	0%	3	4	75%	1	3	7
Oliver Miller	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	2	0.0%	5	0	0
Darrell Hawkins	1	1	100%	1	1	100%	0	0	-	0	0	-	1	0	2
Cannon Whitby	1	2	50%	1	1	100%	0	1	0%	0	0	-	1	1	2
Shawn Davis	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	2	0
TEAM	47	81	58%	45	72	62.5%	2	9	22.2%	24	41	58.5%	48	30	120

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT	FG	FGA	FG%	2P	2PA	2P%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	TRB	AST	PTS
Hank Gathers	12	24	50%	12	24	50%	0	0	-	4	11	36.4%	17	1	28
Bo Kimble	7	23	30.4%	5	12	41.7%	2	11	18.2%	8	9	88.9%	10	3	24
Jeff Fryer	7	28	25%	2	6	33.3%	5	22	22.7%	5	5	100%	8	1	24
Per Stumer	2	7	28.6%	1	4	25%	1	3	33.3%	1	2	50%	8	1	6
Tom Peabody	1	4	25%	1	3	33.3%	0	1	0%	0	1	0%	4	4	2
John Veargason	3	7	42.9%	3	7	42.9%	0	0	-	0	0	-	7	0	6
Terrell Lowery	2	3	66.7%	1	1	100%	1	2	50%	2	2	100%	2	1	7
Terry Mister	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	2	2	100%	0	1	2
John O'Connell	1	2	50%	1	2	50%	0	0	-	0	0	-	2	1	2
TEAM	35	98	35.7%	26	59	44.1%	9	39	23.1%	22	32	68.8%	58	13	101

No. 5) 1988 second round: No. 2 seed UNC 123, No. 10 seed Loyola Marymount 97

UNC	FG	FGA	FG%	2P	2PA	2P%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	TRB	AST	PTS
Jeff Lebo	6	9	66.7%	3	5	60%	3	4	75%	4	4	100%	5	7	19
J.R. Reid	8	10	80%	8	10	80%	0	0	-	3	6	50%	15	5	19
Kevin Madden	7	9	77.8%	7	9	77.8%	0	0	-	2	2	100%	4	9	16
Scott Williams	3	3	100%	3	3	100%	0	0	-	2	2	100%	8	3	8
Steve Bucknall	5	7	71.4%	5	7	71.4%	0	0	-	3	5	60%	5	3	13
Rick Fox	4	4	100.0%	4	4	100.0%	0	0	-	0	0	-	4	4	8
Ranzino Smith	11	14	78.6%	8	9	88.9%	3	5	60%	2	3	66.7%	4	0	27
Pete Chilcutt	2	2	100%	2	2	100%	0	0	-	1	3	33.3%	6	2	5
King Rice	1	1	100%	1	1	100%	0	0	-	2	2	100%	1	2	4
Joe Jenkins	1	2	50%	1	2	50%	0	0	-	0	0	-	1	1	2
Jeff Denny	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	1	0	0
Rodney Hyatt	1	1	100%	1	1	100%	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	2
Doug Elstun	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	0
David May	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	0
TEAM	49	62	79%	43	53	81.1%	6	9	66.7%	19	27	70.4%	54	36	123

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT	FG	FGA	FG%	2P	2PA	2P%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	TRB	AST	PTS
Corey Gaines	5	20	25%	4	15	26.7%	1	5	20%	5	6	83.3%	1	10	16
Mike Yoest	2	10	20%	2	9	22.2%	0	1	0%	6	10	60%	12	2	10
Bo Kimble	3	21	14.3%	2	12	16.7%	1	9	11.1%	1	2	50%	3	1	8
Mark Armstrong	3	7	42.9%	3	7	42.9%	0	0	-	1	2	50%	3	1	7
Hank Gathers	7	17	41.2%	7	17	41.2%	0	0	-	3	10	30%	12	0	17
Enoch Simmons	4	11	36.4%	0	2	0%	4	9	44.4%	0	0	-	4	2	12
Jeff Fryer	9	16	56.3%	2	2	100%	7	14	50%	2	2	100%	2	1	27
John Veargason	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	2	0	0
Marcus Slater	0	1	0%	0	0	-	0	1	0%	0	0	-	0	0	0
Pat Meyer	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	0
Marcellus Lee	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	0
Jeff Roscoe	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	-	0	0	0
TEAM	33	103	32%	20	64	31.3%	13	39	33.3%	18	32	56.3%	39	17	97

COMPLETE NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY (1939-present)

1939-49 Brackets: 1939 |1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949

1950s: 1950 | 1951 |1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959

1960s: 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 |1967 | 1968 | 1969

1970s: 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979

1980s: 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989

1990s: 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999

2000s: 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009

2010s: 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019

Store: Shop latest college basketball gear
Listen: March Madness 365 podcast | Latest video

COVID-19 and college sports: Latest updates and schedules